Hit Scottish Musical Coming to Theatre Antigonish

Sunshine on Leith is a foot-stomping, award-winning musical from Scotland 

Sunshine on Leith is a vibrant, energetic piece of musical theatre, loved by audiences and critics alike. First produced in 2007 by the Dundee Rep Ensemble in Scotland, the show won the UK Theatre Award for Best Musical that year, and has toured the globe several times since. It also had a successful film adaptation in 2013. Written by Stephen Greenhorn, the play features the foot-stomping songs of The Proclaimers.

Sunshine on Leith follows the highs and lows of servicemen Ally and Davy as they search for normality after returning home to Scotland from a tour in Afghanistan. Families, friendships, and relationships are not all plain sailing in this funny and moving musical story about love and life. Ally’s marriage proposal is rejected by his childhood sweetheart, a disillusioned nurse who moves to the US to seek career fulfilment instead. Davy gets a job in a call centre while his parents feud over the discovery of his father’s past infidelity. Both young men struggle with questions about home, identity, language, love, and displacement. At the heart of this uplifting story is a simple question: Would you walk 500 miles for the one you love?

The Proclaimers are a world-renowned Scottish music duo composed of twin brothers Charlie and Craig Reid. Best known for their euphoric songs like “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” and “Sunshine on Leith,” their music is timeless, capturing a gamut of human emotions, and written with poignancy, emotional honesty, political fire, and wit.

Sunshine on Leith begins with a Pay-What-You-Can Preview performance on Tuesday, March 5, and opening night on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Performances will take place daily until Sunday, March 10. All shows begin at 7:30 pm, with doors opening at 7 pm. 

The show is directed by Artistic Director Andrea Boyd, and the music is directed by Emery van de Wiel. Set and lighting design is by Ian Pygott and costume design by Martha Palmer. The large cast includes a mix of community members and StFX students, some of whom are veterans of the Bauer stage and some who are new to the joy of acting.

Actor/Singer Laura Teasdale and radio personality Ken Kingston are among the cast members with principal roles. “I have loved this musical for years” says Teasdale. “It is small but mighty; very funny, but truly touching and so cleverly written… I am a huge Proclaimers fan and this music... Well every song is a hit and we are rockin’ it.  So much fun!”

Bauer Stage transforms into a Large Pool of Water

Play by Mary Zimmerman featuring StFX students starts November 7

Something magical is happening on the Bauer Theatre stage. The popular venue for live theatre has been home to several hundred different plays, set designs, and theatrical elements over the years, but staging a play set entirely in water is an exciting first!

In November, Theatre Antigonish will open its 44th season with the Tony-award winning play Metamorphoses, by Mary Zimmerman. This play is a spellbinding adaptation of the classic myths of Ovid. It is storytelling at its best, with a series of short stories told in and around a shallow pool of water on stage. With its evocative images, visual exuberance, and exquisite costumes, this play is a clever juxtaposition of the ancient and contemporary as it explores the theme of transformation. And since the entire play is set in water, audience members will even have a chance to catch a fun splash or two, if they choose to sit up close to the stage!

Metamorphoses begins with a pay-what-you-can preview on Wednesday, November 7, and opening night on Thursday, November 8. Performances will take place November 7-10, and November 17-18, at the Bauer Theatre, located on the campus of StFX University. The show begins at 7:30pm and doors open at 7pm. The play is directed by Theatre Antigonish’s Artistic Director Andrea Boyd, with set and lighting design by Ian Pygott and costume design by Martha Palmer. The stage manager for the show is Ashley Pettipas. The cast includes a large group of community members and StFX students, some of whom are veterans of the Bauer stage and some who are new to the joy of acting. The prospect of performing a play in water poses unique challenges for all aspects of the show – set design, costumes, direction, acting, backstage work, audience seating, climate control – but it also brings excitement, exuberance, and the joy of creative discovery as the cast and creative team work through rehearsals. 

Boyd says “I am so excited to direct this play. The stories will provoke laughter, tears, grief and joy. It will surprise us and draw us in. The actors are all amazing, and the creative team is working wonders to bring the play to life. It is a beautiful play with stunning visuals. And who doesn’t enjoy playing in water?”.

Advance tickets for Metamorphoses are on sale now – online at www.theatreantigonish.com or by phone at (902) 867-3333. Tickets are $15 regular, $12 seniors, and $10 students. Season passes are also on sale, providing a saving of up to 30% on all five shows for the season.

Now entering its 44th year, Theatre Antigonish is a professionally-led community theatre organization, offering high quality productions at the Bauer Theatre during the fall and winter months. As a non-profit organization, Theatre Antigonish brings together StFX students and members of the local community to work together on all aspects of the plays, including acting, designing, set-building, sound and light, and promotions. For more information, contact tickets@stfx.ca, call (902) 867-3333, or visit the Facebook page at facebook.com/TheatreAntigonish.

Name: Nicole Zambrano.

Year of Study/Program: First year Bachelor of Art in Political Science. 

Where are you from? Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The first play that you’ve ever been in? Metamorphoses will be my first play!

Name: Michael Gillis.

Year of Study/Program: Second Year, English Major.

Where are you from? Georgetown, Ontario.

The first that that you’ve been in? Goodnight Desdemona Good morning Juliet, a Shakespeare parody.

Name: Devon Side Walker.

Year of Study/Program: Third Year Business, Management advanced major.

Where are you from? Grande Prairie, Alberta.

The first play that you’ve ever been in? First play I was in was at Theatre Antigonish: Eurydice.

First play ever: a Christmas play in the 8th grade.

Name: Tyler Kingston.

Year of Study/Program: Second year, Nursing.

Where are you from? Miramichi, New Brunswick.

The first play that you’ve ever been in? Snow White and the 7 dwarfs.

Name: Salome Barker.

Year of Study/Program: Fourth year, Women and Gender Studies.

Where are you from? Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The first play that you’ve ever been in? The Nutcracker.

Name: Madison Kendall.

Year of Study/Program: Second Year, Arts Program. 

Where are you from? New York City, USA.

The first play that you’ve ever been in? Solidea Island.

A Review: All in the Timing

Theatre Antigonish presented All in the Timing at Bauer from March 6-10, 2018. All in the Timing is a drop-dead laughing anthology written by David Ives. David is a graduate from the Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1971 and from the Yale School of Drama with a Master of Fine Arts in 1984.

The anthology originated from six one-acts that received the Outer Critics Circle Playwriting Award. A total of seven comedies and one tragedy made up the production directed by Andrea Boyd.

A call bell often reset and reoriented the dialogue between a couple of strangers in act one. It became a savior of the dead-end conversation. The call bell reminded me of absurdity in Samuel Beckett’s Ping. The technique is a critique of small-talk conversational conventions.

The appearance by Justin Gregg, 2017-2018 Board of Director at Theater Antigonish, as Don was a delightful surprise in act two. Justin did some freelance writing for The Huffington Post, BBC Earth and The Wall Street Journal. Justin also did some voice acting for The Ugly Duckling and Me! and Thor: Legend of the Magical Hammer.

Justin is a graduate with a PhD from the School of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin in 2008. Having studied dolphin social cognition in-depth, the science writer is author of books Twenty-Two Fantastical Facts about Dolphins and Are Dolphins Really Smart?.

Beloved Antigonish resident,  Majd Al Zhouri was one of six talented actors to animate three characters in the play. These actors ought to be praised for their skill in bringing 18 states of mind to life; each persona with a distinguishable costume, voice and mannerism.

The small cast of 12 indicates a need for aspiring actors to audition for Theatre Antigonish productions. In fact, All in the Timing replaced the highly anticipated Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman. Metamorphoses was postponed due to a shortage of people who auditioned for the production.

One of All in the Timing’s qualities was its minimalist stage props. As much as a costume, a table and a beer sustained the audience’s suspension of disbelief during the entire act five.

Act six involved three monkeys named Milton, Kafka and Swift trying to write Hamlet on typewriters. The act satirizes a study of animal language acquisition (Codename 6.001) at Columbia University led by Herbert S. Terrace. This act and others were riddled with allusions to literary works and authors of them.

One consistent allusion was to the epic hero, Don Juan. Pre-intermission, a universal linguist charmer named Don predictably got the girl at the end of the act. Post-intermission, three direct references to “Don Juan” flooded the dialogue.

David wrote a full-length play titled Don Juan in Chicago. Safe to say the playwright was inspired by the satirical work of Lord Byron.

Theatre Antigonish’s next production at Bauer is the One-Act Play Festival running between March 22-24, 2018. The annual Festival features amateur theatre groups and individual performers.

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Bauer Theatre dances and laughs

An update on that play that was like, acted out or something.

Cerulean Blue is a musical comedy by Drew Hayden Taylor, emphasis on the comedy. Filled with rich dialogue humor, the fast-pace repartee between characters is an outstanding feature of the play. A packed audience left Bauer Theatre with sore cheeks from laughing all evening on November 10.

Cerulean Blue is the name of a struggling blues band. Russel defines his vision of the band’s music as “avant-garde”. When new member Billy joins the band, Russel must compromise his one-way vision. Cerulean Blue characters have strong values and beliefs and their conversations with one another are especially interesting when personalities collide.

The author, humorist and playwright from Curve Lake First Nations has published non-fiction, fiction and edited collections. As well, his work appears in the revered Canadian literary magazine, Rampike (1979-2015). Taylor’s work is published in currently-running magazines Paragraph, Prairie Fire and Maclean’s. As well, Taylor is the author of 30 books.

The playwright’s 2014 commission by Ryerson Theatre School is a culturally relevant revival during this 150-years since confederation in Canada. This most recent series of performances from November 8-11 & 18-19 were commissioned by Theatre Antigonish, with support from the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture & Heritage.

Through humour, the play informs the audience of aboriginal traditions such as a language-fast; speaking only one’s native language for a predetermined amount of time. Also, there is a proposed smudging; a purification by burning medicinal and sacred herbs such as, sage, sweet grass and/or tobacco.

Featuring StFX students, members of the Antigonish and neighbouring aboriginal communities, the play was a local success. Chief Paul J. Prosper of the Paqtnkek First Nations community endorsed the production of the play in the program with these words of encouragement, “Cultural expression is a vital component in growing, healthy communities. We look forward to taking part in future initiatives with Theatre Antigonish to explore stories that resonate among our friends and neighbours. To our guests at today’s performance of Cerulean Blue, which includes Paqtnkek’s Virginia Silliboy and her daughter Nyesha – Enjoy the show! Wela’lin/Thank you.”

Next production hosted by Theatre Antigonish is Miracle on 34th Street; a holiday classic, retold as a 1940s radio show, with live choral music. The one-night production on December 10 is presented in partnership with The Antigonish Choral Ensemble and St. James Handbell Quartet.

Looking ahead to next semester, I am going to see Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman at least once between March 6 and 10, 2018. The Tony Award winning play is a spellbinding adaptation of Ovid’s myths told through stories in and around a large onstage pool. Although I have yet to read the play, I am familiar with Metamorphoses. The pool is predictably for the myths of Narcissus and Echo (Book III), and Midas (Book XI); among other myths which include water-nymphs, river-gods and perhaps even a voyage down the river Styx to an underworld pool.

Theatre Antigonish hosts a variety of plays based on ancient, classic and modern times. Tickets are $15 regular, $12 senior and $10 student.

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